


They're Among Us...

by temporalCorvidae



Category: Among Us (Video Game), Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I used rng to decide who would die I'm sorry if your fave dies, Layton.. in SPACE, Murder, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, and somebody is a murderer uh oh, description of murder, horror themes, it's very likely they will, people you love are gonna die, slight vibes of "the lottery"
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/temporalCorvidae/pseuds/temporalCorvidae
Summary: A group of ten crew mates go on the trip of a lifetime as an out of this world task force! Little do nine of them know, one of them is an imposter, and it may be the last place some may see...
Relationships: Angela Ledore & Henry Ledore, Aurora & Desmond Sycamore, Flora Reinhold & Luke Triton, Hershel Layton & Desmond Sycamore, Hershel Layton & Luke Triton, Randall Ascot & Angela Ledore, Randall Ascot & Henry Ledore
Comments: 44
Kudos: 42





	1. Welcome Message

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Layton Among Us. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight!

"Oof, Professor; I think I might be a bit motion sick."

Luke, dressed in a cyan space suit, stepped into the cafeteria of the space station, holding his stomach. Professor Layton was quick to follow suit, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

The group's guide, dressed in a standard white suit, lead the way to the main table in the cafeteria, fixed with a bright red button.

"Here, we have the emergency button. Which, as you'd expect, should only be used in the case of an emergency," the guide explained, before setting about handing the members of the group folders matching their suits' colors.

Luke was handed the cyan folder, and he passed Layton the brown folder.  
Emmy took the yellow folder. Flora took the orange folder next, followed by Aurora, who took the pink one. Angela took the red folder for herself and handed Henry the green folder and Randall the purple folder. Desmond took the black folder, and Clive, finally, took the dark blue folder.

"In each of your folders you'll see the tasks you've been assigned," the guide continued, before holding up a silver tablet. "You've also been provided with company tablets to perform some tasks, as well as to report any unsightly behavior. Remember, a good crew member is an honest crewmember."

There were quiet mutterings amongst the ten crew mates, but they generally agreed with the statement.

"This is a once in a lifetime experience, not to mention it should look _great_ on any resumes for future endeavors," the guide said proudly, giving Luke, Flora and Aurora a somewhat patronising but overall friendly smile. "So do a good job and you'll have useful tools under your belts."

"Alright!" Randall cheered. Out of all of them, he'd be the one most likely to apply for university first.

His outburst did earn him a look of confusion from the guide.

"…If that is everything, I believe that ends the review briefing," the guide stated before standing up straight. "I'm sure you all remember how to do your tasks, but if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask me. I'll be here in the meeting room for the majority of this trip, unless something goes wrong. And," he laughed, "I can assure you that _nothing_ will to wrong."

The way he said that did not necessarily rest easy with Luke, but he disregarded it as leftover motion sickness.

The group dispatched from the cafeteria down seperate hallways towards their tasks in groups of two or three. Emmy, Flora and Luke entered the storage area to the south, heading towards the east hallway.  
"Ah, hold on, I might as well fix these wires here," Luke called, and Emmy leaned against the wall while flora ran her fingers along one of the boxes in storage.

"So you're not scared of going _into_ space, but you are scared of being alone in a dim room?" Emmy teased as Luke fumbled with the wires.

"You're one to talk, Emmy!" Luke jabbed, wrapping the shrink tape around the exposed wires.

Just one more, and…

"Done! Sorry about that," he said, satisfied with the job.

"If it's as easy as that, we'll be done in no time!" Cheered Flora. "Then we can just explore the station!"

"You're making it sound like some kind of science fiction cruise," Luke said as the trio headed towards the front of the ship. "It's just a glorified cargo ship if the briefing had anything to say about it."

Flora stuck her tongue out as they reached the front.

Luke had to admit, the view _was_ nothing short of spectacular.

Just in case, he looked down at his tablet to see if any tasks needed to be done.

"I've got to prime the shields real quick, I'll be done in a second," he called to his crew mates.

Taking the silence as affirmation, he stepped up to the panel near the back of the deck, adjusting the Shield's levels. Everything seemed to be optimal, and with a small smile, he checked off his second task on the list.

His smile faded when a red warning message flashed on his screen.

_Lights disabled: 56%_

Before he could say anything, an alarm blared from overhead, and the guide's voice could be heard from an intercom.

"There's no need to panic," he said, panic clear in his voice, "but we are entering a state of emergency. There is an imposter aboard this ship."

"What..?" Luke muttered to himself, before looking up. "Emmy, Flora-? What does he mean by -"

Emmy and Flora weren't anywhere in sight.

"There is an imposter aboard this ship," the guide repeated. "An alien life form, taking the form of a crew member, who will stop at _nothing_ to kill us. Please, quickly, return to the cafeteria -"

The intercom turned off abruptly.

Fear stewing in his stomach, Luke glanced down at his tablet.

_Lights disabled: 0%_

Luke tried to make his way back where he came, but it was difficult to fumble around blindly in the unfamiliar ship.

Eventually he made his way back to what he believed was the storage room.

"Emmy -? Flora..?" He called nervously, feeling along the walls to try and make his way around the room.

When he heard electrical buzzing, he slipped into the next room. Seeing flashing green lights, he shined his tablet on the label. Seeing "LIGHTS" in bold letters, he frantically went to work flipping switches up and down. When all the lights glowed green, the warning message vanished from his screen, and with a faint mechanical whirr, the lights slowly returned.

Luke let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his eyes as they readjusted. His victory was short lived, and was quickly extinguished by the blaring alarm that sounded from his tablet.

This time the screen was completely red, with two words flashing yellow:

BODY DISCOVERED.

Luke was one of the last members to enter the room, followed by Clive and Emmy.  
Randall was shaking someone, and Luke's heart dropped as the scene came into focus.

Lying on the floor, with his white space suit stained red, was the guide.

Luke felt panic rising in his chest; he couldn't think clearly.. there was a _dead body,_ and not just a dead body! He had _just_ seen this man alive, no more than ten minutes ago!

Sensing the panic, Layton put a hand on Luke's shoulder. Luke took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but he had to turn away from the body.

"Look at the tablets," Desmond commented thoughtfully, "it appears to have a built in voting system."

"Are you not going to comment on the fact there is a _dead man_ in front of us, professor?" Randall snapped, but looked at his tablet.

Luke looked down at his own tablet and, sure enough, there was some kind of ballot on the screen, displaying each of their names, as well as a "skip" button.

"I believe, in the case of an emergency such as this," Layton said slowly, staying calm on the outside, "we are supposed to vote on who we assume is the "imposter," in an attempt to remain civil."

"What happens when someone gets the most votes..?" Flora asked nervously.

"I would.. assume…" Desmond said quietly. "I would assume that the "winner" gets.. ejected."

A dreadful silence fell over the group.

"I don't know what to think," Angela said softly, and Henry gently took her hand.

"I don't think we have enough evidence to figure out who did this," Randall said carefully, taking his place eonin between Henry and Angela, wrapping his arms around them hesitantly.

"I don't think anyone was in the cafeteria after we split," Aurora said quietly, staring worriedly at the body.

Desmond put his hand on her shoulder.

"Everyone needs to be careful from now on," he said, looking at the group. "Travel in groups if you can, otherwise, be extra careful."

With that, he clicked the "skip" button on his tablet.

The rest of the group followed suit.

Luke swallowed thickly, now certain that it wasn't motion sickness making him upset.

Someone on this ship was a murderer.

Someone he _trusted_ on this ship was a murderer.

* * *

**No one was ejected (Skipped).**   
**1 Imposter remains.**


	2. Communication Error

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Without solid proof, the crew continues with their tasks. Something goes very wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Official Round One of Layton Among us. Start speculating in the comments if you're interested :)

The ten crew members stood quietly at the cafeteria table. Desmond and Randall had solemnly moved the guide’s body to the freezer storage, in the hopes that they could return and a proper funeral could be held for him.

Luke felt as though his stomach had tied itself in knots. Someone here, someone he  _ knew, _ had just committed murder. It could have been anyone in the room. His gaze fell nervously on each of his crew mates. 

Nothing. He didn’t have the Professor’s famous intuition. All he could think about was how he couldn’t believe that  _ any _ of these people had it in them to  _ kill _ .

He glanced at Desmond, Clive, and Randall.

Maybe  _ some _ had it in them.

“I think the best course of action is to move in groups of three or to go by yourself,” Desmond, taking initiative to be the makeshift leader, instructed the group. “In a group, if the imposter is among us, they won’t be able to make quick work of us without being caught.”

It wasn’t necessarily _comforting_ , but it made sense.

“Well, I for one want to travel with Angie and Henry,” Randall claimed, crossing his arms. “I know they’re safe.”

“We don’t really..  _ know _ for sure,” Aurora said quietly, catching the group’s attention. “The imposter could be  _ any _ of us. They’re hidden among us.”

Desmond put his hand on Aurora’s shoulder.

“You’re correct, Aurora. We don’t have any evidence against the imposter, either. We don’t truly know who we can trust.”

Luke’s heart tightened.  _ I don’t know who I can trust. _

“Hershel, Aurora, I’d like you to accompany me,” Desmond spoke up, nodding to Aurora and the Professor. “I would prefer to keep family close by.”

Luke tried to ignore the dark look Henry was giving Desmond.

“Agreed,” Layton replied. “I believe our tasks are near each other as well.”

“That’s settled, then. You two trios will go out and do your tasks, and the rest of us,” Emmy said, nodding to Luke, Flora, and Clive, “can head out on our own, if that’s alright.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to travel in pairs?” Clive argued. “Then we’d know who the imposter is.”

“Are you serious?” Luke spoke up, glaring at Clive. “Because it sounds to me like you’re suggesting that someone acts as  _ bait. _ ”

“Well, we’d figure out pretty quick who the killer was, then!” Clive jabbed back.

“That sounds like something an imposter would say!” Luke snapped.

“Seriously? Are you stupid? Are you  _ that _ stupid?” Clive argued angrily, standing up. “I wish I  _ was _ the imposter so I could leave you bloody and crying for mum, you cock-up bed pisser!”

“ _ Clive, _ ” Layton spoke sternly, catching the room by surprise and making them scramble to attention. “Luke. Both of you, that was unnecessary.”

“Maybe he shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions,” Clive grumbled, but went quiet under the Professor’s gaze. 

Truly, Luke thought;  _ nobody _ is immune to the Professor when he scolds them.

* * *

The debacle had been cleared up; Clive had reluctantly agreed to Emmy’s plan of the remaining four crewmembers being alone. Henry, Randall and Angela made their way towards the engines, followed shortly after by Emmy. Clive headed in the direction of the Medbay, and Desmond’s trio made their way to the front of the ship, leaving Luke with Flora in the cafeteria.

“Where are you headed next?” Flora asked, catching Luke’s attention. 

“Oh! Err,” he flipped through the task list on his tablet. “I have a task in Admin.”

“I think I need to fix wires outside of that room,” Flora said, scrolling through her own tablet. “Want to walk with me?”

“I’ll be honest, I.. was hoping you’d ask,” Luke muttered, reaching up to adjust his cap only to awkwardly pat his helmet. “It’s a bit…”

“Scary?” Flora finished for him, giving him a sympathetic smile. “It is kind of scary to be alone out here.”

“Yeah,” Luke said quietly before following Flora towards the hallway.

“But it’s alright, right?” Flora said as they approached Admin. “You and the Professor always have adventures that are dangerous like this, right? And you came out okay.”

“Well- mostly, I guess,” Luke mumbled, swallowing nervously. “Those weren’t in the middle of space, though.”

Flora stopped outside of Admin to work on the electrical panel. Luke looked over her shoulder for a moment, watching her hook up the wires.

“I think everything’s gonna be okay,” Flora said cheerfully. “The Professor will figure it out in no time! He always does!”

“Yeah…” Luke nodded, before giving a hopeful smile. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess, well, I guess this was just so sudden that I got carried away. The Professor can solve it, and.. And we can help him!”

“Exactly!” Flora agreed, closing the panel. “Well, I’m finished here, and the next panel I have to fix is in…”

She looked at her tablet.

“Cafeteria? I was just there!” She complained. “Honestly, this task system is poorly organized. I guess we have to part ways, then.”

“Ah, alright Flora. Be careful,” Luke replied slowly, smiling.

Flora flashed him a smile before heading back up the hall, leaving Luke alone again.

Entering Admin, Luke flipped through his folder and retrieved the ID card he had been given. He hardly knew why swiping a card was an important task, but he figured it was worth doing, just in case.

He swiped the card.

“ _ Error: Too fast,”  _ the reader displayed in bold font and blared out a small beep that stung Luke’s ears a little.

“Oh..kay…” Luke muttered, before swiping again.

_ “Error: Too slow.” _

“Really?” He swiped again.

_ “Error: Too slow.” _

_ “Error: Too slow.” _

_ “Error: Too fast.” _

“Oh, my god!” Luke groaned to himself, smacking the card reader as if it would help. “When were you made, the Stone Age?”

He took a deep breath to regain his composure, and swiped the card one last time.

_ “Card Accepted. Thank you.” _

“Ah, brilliant.  _ Now  _ you work,” Luke muttered, ultimately relieved the nightmare was over.

He took a moment to look at the Admin panel behind the card reader. He noticed yellow markers displaying where people were on the ship, and took note of their locations. He assumed the two trios displayed on the map were the trios that had broken off from the cafeteria before.

Before he could take note of anyone else’s locations, the screen reloaded, moving the markers around. 

One trio remained on the map in navigation, but now there were two pairs, and two people missing from the map entirely. Upon further inspection, he realized one of the pairs was headed his way.

Panicking, Luke turned the panel off and whipped around in time to see Henry and Angela jump back from the entrance to Admin, clearly startled by Luke’s sudden movement.

“Luke! Oh, I’m so sorry to have scared you,” Angela spoke worriedly but sincerely. 

“It’s fine, Mrs. Ledore, I was just startled is all,” Luke said back, chuckling awkwardly.

“No matter,” Henry replied quickly, before looking directly at Luke. “More importantly, we-”

“Have you seen Randall?” Angela interjected worriedly, and Henry nodded at Luke, worry becoming clear on his expression. “He separated from us and we haven’t been able to find him.”

“N..No, I haven’t,” Luke breathed, before stepping forward. “Let me go with you, we can look for him.”

“Of course,” Henry said quietly, leading the group out of Admin and towards storage.

Henry, Luke and Angela headed towards the Electrical room when Clive rushed by, bumping into Luke. 

“-Hey! Watch where you’re-” Luke started to complain when Clive shot him a  _ look _ . He shut his mouth, looking down at his tablet.

_ Communications Disabled. _

“Th.. The communications have gone out,” Luke stated, and Henry looked back at him. 

“Communications are the other way, let’s head over there and repair them,” He said to Luke.

“Go on without me,” Angela said nervously. “Something… something feels very wrong.”

Hesitantly, Henry took Luke towards Communications while Angela headed down the opposite hallway. Stepping into the office, the pair headed for the transmitter and examined it.

“I think we just need to turn the knob here,” Luke said quietly, reaching forward and tuning the signals. “And match the waves with the one on display there.”

“That should do it,” Henry affirmed, looking at his tablet screen. 

Luke kept fiddling with the knob until the waves matched up, and the error message on Henry’s screen disappeared.

“Excellent work,” Henry said, and Luke could detect a faint glimmer of pride in Henry’s eyes. “You’re quite the intelligent young man, you know.”

“Oh! W- well..” Luke chuckled, embarrassed. “It was nothing…”

Before the conversation could continue, a woman’s scream echoed down the hall.

Henry and Luke looked at each other fearfully.

“Was that..?”

“Angela-!”

The alarm blared, and for a second time that flight, the grim message flashed on the screen.

BODY DISCOVERED.

Luke and Henry ran towards the electrical room, seeing Flora and Emmy running in from the cafeteria. Desmond, Layton, and Aurora came from the direction of the engines, and Clive entered moments after them. 

Aurora was standing in shock, staring down at the floor. 

The floor…

Lying motionless on the floor was a familiar purple suit.

“Randall..?” Henry breathed, his eyes widening in shock. “No, no- that’s-”

A feeling of horror emanated from the room, but none as strongly Angela, Henry and Hershel. 

Randall’s space suit had red blood splattered across it, from the slashes across his midsection. His eyes were wide open, but dull. Lifeless. 

Luke felt as if the air had left his lungs and refused to come back. His throat went dry.

Randall Ascot. Randall, who had only just returned to his friend’s lives a few years ago. Randall, who had been living happily with Henry and Angela in Monte’dOr. 

Randall, who had been planning to attend university after over twenty years.

Angela choked out a sob, clutching at her chest. She dropped to her knees, crying out with grief and fear and  _ loss _ .

Hershel sat next to his friend silently, putting his arm around Angela’s shoulders.

Henry stared in shock, before turning around, his expression dark.

“Professor Sycamore,” he said quietly. “Where were you before the report?”

Desmond didn’t respond for a minute, shock becoming apparent on his face. 

“Excuse me?” He responded.

“Tell me where you were, Sycamore,” Henry said louder, bitterness and pain in his tone. 

“Why are you targeting me explicitly, Ledore?” 

“Who else here has the  _ motive _ to.. To  _ kill  _ Randall?” he spat back, clenching his hands into fists to try and keep them from shaking. “You tried to destroy him once, why not again?”

“I-” Desmond went quiet, his expression wavering. 

“Henry,  _ please,” _ Hershel said, pain weighing heavily in his tone. “Desmond was with me and Aurora the entire time. He did not do this.”

“Then who did?” Henry cried, voice trembling. “Who could have done this??”

“I…” Hershel went quiet, wrapping his arms around himself.

Angela, who had gone quiet, stood up. She turned around, her expression unreadable, and lifted her arm.

She pointed directly at Clive.

“He did,” she said, grief turning to anger.

Clive stared back in shock. “...Me…?”

“You-” Henry’s eyes widened, and he pointed at Clive as well. “ _ You _ ran past us from this hallway in storage-! Before the communications were disabled!”

Emmy lifted her hand and pointed at Clive. “ _ You _ were by yourself this entire time- you had the opportunity!”

“N-no, wait- I-” Clive put his hands in front of him, as if trying to show that his hands were clean. “I-I can explain-”

“You suggested we should travel in pairs,” Flora said thoughtfully. “Were you trying to lure someone to their death?”

“No-! No! I-”

“You got defensive, when Luke mentioned you were suspicious,” Desmond added. “ _ Quite _ defensive.”

“You’re not listening to me!” Clive cried. “I didn’t do anything! I had been at the lower engine!”

“The.. The way you looked at me when we ran into each other,” Luke said quietly, “I.. I don’t know, I-”

“You’ve got it wrong-!! Please!” Clive shouted at the group.

Henry, expression cold, looked down at his tablet and voted.

Angela followed suit.

“Listen to me explain myself! I had gone into the Medbay, I had submitted a scan, and.. And I calibrated the distributors in the reactor, before I-”

Emmy voted.

“I-I- I headed back down the hallway, I needed to get to cafeteria-”

Flora and Desmond voted.

“Stop-! Stop it!” Clive had gone pale. “This has  _ got _ to be some kind of joke-!”

Luke stared at his screen. 

“Luke, come on-! I- I know I-” Clive stood stuck to the spot, grinning nervously at Luke. “I’ve done terrible things in the past, I know- b-but I didn’t kill Randall! I swear I didn’t!”

Luke felt like his throat was closing up. Could he  _ really _ vote on this? Did he have enough info?

He shut his eyes tightly… and voted for Clive.

The results appeared on the screen. Clive, Hershel, and Aurora had skipped voting. Everyone else had voted Clive.

“Hah…” Clive laughed hoarsely, staring at the screen. “That’s a funny joke, huh? This is where we start laughing, right?”

Henry stepped forward.

“Right?” Clive asked again. “This wasn’t serious, right?”

“Randall is dead,” Henry said coldly. “And you assume this is a joke?”

Luke stepped away towards Aurora and the Professor. Hershel looked conflicted; his jaw was clenched as he looked on.

“N-no- I-” Clive bumped into Emmy, who took hold of his arms. “H- hang on- wait-”

“We figured out who it is,” Desmond said, disappointment in his tone. “You’re the imposter, Clive.”

“I’m- let go of me!” Clive struggled against Emmy’s hold on him. “I’m innocent! I didn’t kill him!”

“Does the garbage chute suffice…?” Emmy asked, looking at Henry, who nodded.

“Garbage- no! Wait!” Clive squirmed as Emmy started dragging him towards the back of storage.

“Stop yelling!” Angela cried out at him, seething with pained anger. “You  _ imposter!” _

_ “I’m not the imposter!” _ Clive yelled. “Let me go!”

Luke watched fearfully as Clive was shoved into a small chamber, closing off the chute. He glanced at Aurora and Layton.

Aurora looked beyond horrified, and Hershel had an unreadable expression on his face.

“This is no way for anyone to die,” Aurora whimpered, hiding her face.

“Professor…?” Luke said, his voice wavering.

The Professor didn’t look at Luke. 

“This isn’t right,” he muttered to himself.

“It isn’t  _ me!” _ Clive shouted. His voice was muted by the glass. He pounded his fists against the wall.

“No,” the Professor said, horror filling his voice, “This isn’t  _ right, it isn’t him,” _ he looked up suddenly as Henry put his hand on the lever.

“Stop!” Layton shouted, but it was too late.

An awful whirring sound grated against Luke’s ears as the door behind Clive jerked open slowly. The vacuum of space threw Clive against the door before it fully opened, and the last thing Luke witnessed was a look of pure terror that burned itself into his memory, before-

He forced himself to turn away, and the Professor pulled him into an embrace, holding him close.

The door closed, and the room went quiet.

After a moment, a notification came onto everyone’s tablets, and a morbid guilt filled the room.

* * *

_ Clive was not The Imposter. _

_ 1 Imposter remains. _


	3. Asphyxiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group focuses on tasks so they can return safely to Earth. Something goes very wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter! Feel free to speculate in the comments :)

The eight remaining crew members sat silently at the cafeteria table, the tension from the ejection still weighing heavily on everyone. Luke personally wanted to vomit.  
Three people were dead, and the imposter was still among them.

His gaze landed on Desmond for a moment, and Luke noticed his crimson eyes glancing about, calculating.

Maybe...

No, that wouldn't make sense, would it? He was nowhere near Randall at the time. He looked at Angela, still shaken up from the events prior. She couldn't have done it- she made a good actress, but this grief was very real... Right?

Luke jumped slightly when he felt a hand on he shoulder. He turned to see the professor looking at him with concern on his expression. He sighed quietly, shaking his head at his mentor and giving a half hearted thumbs up, as if to say "it's alright, I'll be okay."

"Well," Desmond finally said, breaking the silence and some of the tension. "We can't just sit here."

"Why not?" Flora said tiredly, "if we just sit here, then maybe the imposter will give up and come clean out of boredom."

"Why can't we simply wait for the ship to return?" Henry said dully, staring coldly at the table.

Aurora spoke up, softly, yet clearly.  
"The ship is in emergency mode," she said quietly, her blue eyes flitting nervously between the others. "Because the guide put the ship into high security before... He... When he did that, the ship.." she shuffled nervously in her seat, and desmond put a hand on her shoulder. "It won't return to earth until our tasks are completed or until the crisis is averted."

"So, we can't leave until we finish our tasks or until we kick out the real imposter?" Emmy clarified, to which Aurora nodded.

"It.. it was in the ship's manual. I found it in navigation."

"All the more reason we shouldn't sit around," Desmond said, taking the reigns of the conversation. "I suggest we split into pairs."

"Are you _serious_?" Henry snapped. "Hadn't we discussed how this would leave one of us as bait for the imposter?"

"Not if we play our cards right," Desmond said carefully, glaring at Henry. "The imposter would be at a disadvantage to kill their partner, because if we were to discover the body, we'd immediately know who it was. If they're smart, they'd avoid killing their partner, so it'd be as safe as our previous plan, if not safer, to travel in pairs."

Henry didn't reply, but after a few moments he nodded curtly.

"If it is alright with you, Desmond, I'd like the accompany Luke," Hershel said quietly, glancing back at Luke, who nodded I'm agreement.

"That is... Fine, I was planning on pairing with Aurora," Desmond said, glancing at the four remaining crew mates. "We have our pairs, you lot split off and we can get our tasks done as quickly as possible."

Luke walked silently next to the professor as they approached the electrical room. The fact that, only four minutes or so before, Randall had been found dead in that room made Luke feel uneasy.

"Professor, are you.. alright..?" He asked quietly while Layton crouched in front of the distributors.

"I'm.. fine, Luke," he said softly as he recalibrated them.

Luke noticed the unfinished rewiring job that was presumably Randall's and went to finish it. He cringed reflexively at the fact it still felt warm.

The duo left the room promptly after completing their tasks, neither of them really wanting to stay any longer than they needed to.

Luke looked glumly at the task bar on his tablet, relieved that it seemed to be going up at a reasonable pace.

Luke was trailing a bit behind the professor, who didn't seem to notice quite yet. He stared at the professor, confliction stirring in his gut. Professor Layton was the kind of person to bottle his emotions, Luke certainly knew that, but was he being too unemotional about Randall? Could he possibly-

"Is everything alright, my boy?"

Hershel's voice startled Luke out of his thoughts, and he jumped a little.

"Y- yeah, I'm alright. I'm just thinking," Luke mumbled, shrugging his shoulders.

Layton fell back a pace to walk next to Luke.

"I know this is... Difficult. Nobody truly knows who they can trust, correct?" Layton said calmly, glancing at Luke.

Luke nodded grimly.

"I can understand wanting to play the detective in this situation, and I find myself inclined to trust your intuition, but it's difficult to make rational thoughts without a clear head, is it not?" He continued. "It doesn't sound like keen advice, but.. you should relax, try to clear your mind."

He smiled warmly at Luke. Luke tried to smile back.

"And don't forget to breathe. I've been forgetting that myself with all the tension in this ship," Layton chuckled half-heartedly.

Luke considered it, and took a deep breath...

..and was promptly interrupted by the sound of an alarm blaring.

"What on earth?" Layton gasped as the room started flashing red.

Luke looked down at his tablet.

**OXYGEN DEPLETED: 1 MINUTE REMAINING**

He suddenly felt light-headed. How could they be so stupid? If the imposter couldn't kill one person-

"The oxygen room- we need to go to the oxygen room-!" Hershel commanded in a forced calm.

Luke nodded quickly, and the two of them made a break down the hallway.  
Luke rubbed his eyes, which were starting to water from all the flashing lights. He promptly crashed into someone, knocking them and two more people down like dominos.  
"Luke-! Be careful-!!" Emmy hissed, jumping quickly to her feet before helping Flora up.  
Luke looked up to see Aurora holding her hand out to him. He graciously took it and stood up, catching a glimpse of Emmy and Flora running towards O2.  
"Luke, hurry! We need to go!" She urged.  
Luke nodded again, and the two of them ran after the others.

**OXYGEN DEPLETED: 20s REMAINING**

Luke tripped over his feet and stumbled into O2, where he saw Flora and Emmy typing numbers into a keypad. The lightheadedness returned suddenly, and it took Luke a moment to realize he was hyperventilating.

"Au- Aurora-" he whimpered, feeling a cold sweat come on as his vision blurred.

Aurora was immediately by his side, helping him sit down and holding him as the counter slowly approached zero.

**OXYGEN DEPLETED: 10s REMAINING**  
**9s**  
**8s**  
**7s**  
**6s**  
**5s**  
**4…**

Luke sat up, gasping for air.

"You're back! Welcome to the afterlife," Emmy chimed, crossing her arms.

"We're _dead_?? We died???" He spluttered, feeling panic rising in his chest.

"No-! Goodness, no! Emmy, be kind to him," Aurora scolded, gently hugging him. "Emmy and Flora reactivated the oxygen, but you fell unconscious just before that."

"Oh-" Luke chuckled morbidly, putting a hand to his head. "I guess the professor-"

The professor?

"The professor-!" He gasped, sitting up and struggling to stand. "Where's the professor-??"

"Wasn't he with us?" Flora asked, eyes wide.

"I- I thought- we ran into each other and-" Luke turned around and ran down the hall suddenly, his thoughts whirling.

" _PROFESSOR_!" He yelled, fear and guilt swirling in his mind.

There was no sound except for his own feet hitting the floor, and then-

**DEAD BODY REPORTED.**

His heart dropped.

Reading the location of the report, he sprinted to shields as quickly as possible, stopping as he saw a figure standing in the entrance.

"P- professor-?" Luke whispered, trembling.

The professor stood silently for a moment. Then, slowly, he fell to his knees, staring in front of him.

Amidst a growing pool of red was a familiar black space suit.

The others started to pile into the room, Emmy and Flora first, followed by Aurora, and finally Henry and Angela. The moment Aurora saw who it was, she gasped, tears welling in her eyes.

"Desmond-" Hershel said quietly, almost inaudibly.

Luke caught a glimpse of Desmond's face, a petrified expression of fear and betrayal depicting his final moments. His midsection had a gaping hole in it, as if he had been stabbed through and tossed aside like nothing.

Aurora choked out a sob, covering her face with her hands. Luke stepped closer to her, hugging her.  
Angela sat next to Hershel, putting a hand on his shoulder. He didn't reply.

No one knew what to say. What could be said? Who could have possibly had a faulty alibi?

Well.. there was one person, but..

Dread filled Luke's thoughts as Hershel slowly stood up, turning around. He knew what was coming.

"Aurora," Hershel said slowly, quietly, and yet coldly.

" _No-!_ " Luke shouted suddenly.

The silence somehow grew quieter, save for Aurora's tears.

Hershel stared at Luke.

"It's not her!" Luke protested, struggling to meet the professor's gaze. "She- she was with me, a-and Flora and Emmy-"

"Luke, I wasn't-" the professor started.

"I fainted, and she helped me, a-and- and an imposter wouldn't _do_ that-!" He interrupted, trying to find the right words.

"Luke," the professor said through gritted teeth, "I _wasn't talking to you._ "

Luke flinched at the response. "I- I know, but-"

"Aurora, what happened?" Hershel asked, ignoring Luke.

"I- I was- I didn't- I don't-" Aurora whimpered, trembling.

Hershel looked down at his tablet, pain clear in his eyes, but his expression unreadable.

"Professor-" Luke pleaded.

Hershel voted.

"She's _distraught_ -!" Luke cried frantically, his panic picking up as he heard another vote come in.

"Emmy- you can't- you can't think-"

"I'm sorry, Luke, I… I don't know what to believe-" Emmy said quietly, voting.

"It's not her-" Luke urged, looking at the others.

Henry had voted. Angela voted, followed by Flora. Aurora hadn't even looked at the tablet.

Luke glared down at the tablet, guilt and fear and anger stewing his thoughts.  
He clicked on Hershel's name.  
He hesitated, staring at the screen, before confirming his vote.

The votes counted in. Flora had skipped. Luke had voted for Hershel, and Henry, Hershel, Angela and Emmy had voted Aurora. Hershel's expression fell from stern to indescribable again as he stared at the results.

Henry stepped up to Aurora, who was still crying. "If it was you, then you.. you killed Randall as well," he said quietly, almost as if he was convincing himself.

"She didn't!" Luke shouted, taking hold of Aurora's hand. "Aurora isn't the imposter!"  
Emmy took him by the shoulders, prying his hand out of Aurora's.

"You've got it all wrong!" He cried, struggling to get out of Emmy's hold on him. "It isn't her! She's not- let me go, Emmy!!"

Emmy looked away from him, guilt clear on her face. It was the same look she had at the Azran sanctuary, when she betrayed Luke and the Professor.

Emmy pushed him back, away from the group, as Aurora was guided towards the makeshift ejection chute.

"Stop!!" He yelled at them, running forward only to be stopped by emmy again. "Let her go!!"

He turned towards the professor. "Tell them to let her go!"

The professor didn't respond.

"You said not to let my emotions get to my head when making a decision! Why are you doing that now?!" He yelled, guilt and _anger_ getting to him. "Why are you being such a _hypocrite_?!"

He shook the professor, who remained unresponsive. Luke's lip quivered, and he looked up at Aurora.

Their eyes met for a split second, before-

The horrid sound of vacuum forcing her out of the ship hit Luke's ears and he turned around, not wanting to see his friend suffer her fate. He felt Flora pull him into a tight hug, and for the first time that flight, he started to cry.

He didn't bother looking at the tablet when the notification sounded. He already knew what it said.

**Aurora was not The Imposter.**  
**1 Imposter Remains.**


	4. Chain Reaction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six remain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to speculate in the comments! we're running out of time.
> 
> Also potential TW for this chapter! Somewhat grotesque description of a corpse near the end of the chapter.

The cafeteria was silent.

Luke's eyes stung with stray tears. He sent a glare towards the professor, his already pained heart tightening when he saw the man sitting there, staring at the table, unfocused and expressionless.

He hated how accusatory he felt. But this was _his_ fault.  
How could it not be?

Flora, who had been in her own troubled thoughts it seemed, suddenly stood up.

"Everyone, split up. Finish your tasks. Then we can be done with this hellish ship," she stated bluntly, glaring at everyone, save for Luke. Her anger seemed particularly focused on Emmy.

Henry looked nervously at Angela. The two of them had been together for most of their time on the ship.

Angela gave him a gentle look, and he glanced away, nodding to Flora. It seemed she had acquired the position of all-too-temporary leadership.

"If that's all we need covered, let's get to it," Flora continued, before standing up and leaving the room quickly.

As her footsteps receded, Angela stood up as well, taking her and Randall's folder of tasks and heading towards the upper engine.

Luke watched her leave, and after a moment he found himself looking at Henry, who glanced in his direction.

Henry gave him a small smile. Luke tried to return it.

Smiling a bit more genuinely at the gesture, henry picked up his folder and made his way to storage.

Hershel hadn't responded to any of that, still sitting where he was.

Luke frowned at the professor. He didn't want to think of the possibility. He had given the professor his full trust from the start, but..

Emmy startled him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey," she said quietly, crouching down a little to meet him at eye level. "Don't worry about the professor, ok? I'll make sure he's alright."

Luke looked at the professor again.

Had he always looked so tired?

"I'm fine, Emmy," Luke replied quietly, giving her a sad smile. "Stay safe."

"You too."

Luke took one last glance back at Emmy and the Professor as he left the room. Emmy was sitting next to him, trying to hand him his folder.

He'd have to check back on her, just in case.

* * *

Luke entered the medical bay, just in time to see Angela finishing a scan.

"I don't know why they wanted us to do this," she admitted to him as she saw him. "It seems a bit unnecessary."

"I think it was part of the "simulating the space exploration experience" bit," Luke said, pushing the button next to the scanner that produced chemical samples of some kind. "But I guess that's easy to forget when you're busy worrying about an imposter, huh?"

Angela chuckled morbidly, nodding. "I suppose that's true."

Luke looked at the screen below the samples.

_return in 2 minutes._

"Good grief, does everything need so much time?" He mumbled to himself before Angela shushed him suddenly.

"Sh-! Did you hear that-?" She whispered.

Luke went silent, listening. Sure enough, he heard it- a dull rumbling sound.

"What- is- is that..." He said breathlessly, "is that the air vents...?"

The rumbling grew louder, before getting quieter again.

"They're in the vents-" Angela whispered. "They've been going through the vents-"

Luke felt light-headed again. The vents were connected at so many points, it would only take one person with the opportunity to split from their partner...

Like how the professor vanished when the oxygen stopped...

No. No, it couldn't be. The very idea of the professor crawling through an air duct to commit _murder_ on his _best friend_ and his _brother_ was absolutely ridiculous. Right?

…right?

"Luke, are you alright?" Angela startled him out of his thoughts. "You're looking pale-"

"I'm okay, I'm fine-" Luke said shakily, taking a deep breath. "Miss Angela, who.. who do you think the imposter could be?"

"I..." Angela started, but they were cut off by an alarm similar to the one for the oxygen. Luke looked at his tablet.

**REACTOR FAILURE, MELTDOWN IMMINENT: 2 MINUTES REMAINING**

"What- how-" Luke stammered, looking wide-eyed at Angela. She seemed shocked, but was doing a decent job of trying to hide it.

"I saw warning labels when doing a task in the reactor room," she said quickly. "We need to go there to stop the reactor."

"How many times is this going to happen?" Luke asked rhetorically as the two of them ran towards the rector.

Flora was already there when they arrived, as if she was waiting for them.

"Quick! One of you!" She shouted at the two of them, pointing to the other end of the room. "Put your hand on that panel!"

Luke ran to the panel and did as she asked, while she put her hand to the other panel.

A moment passed, with nothing but the sounds of the alarm blaring, the scanners reading their palms, and luke's heart pounding.

Nothing..  
Nothing.…

**READ SUCCESSFUL.**

**ENTERING SAFETY MODE.**

As the announcement was made, the lights of the ship dimmed slightly, and fans turned on in the reactor room.

"How bloody awful does this ship's design have to be?!" Luke cried to no one in particular as Flora left the room.

Angela walked up to him and crouched slightly to meet his eye level. He could see sympathy in her eyes.

"Luke, I…" she said quietly, "I don't really know what to say, but- if you need to talk to anyone, you can talk to me, alright. I'm.. I'm worried about you."

Luke couldn't really process what she said. He just muttered a quiet "thank you" and stepped back, leaving the room.

* * *

He didn't know what to think.

There were only five people left besides him. One of them was an imposter.

His mind kept returning to the professor, and he kept denying it.

It couldn't be the professor. It couldn't be.

It couldn't-

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a thud beneath him.

The vents.

Someone was in the vents.

He froze in place, listening to the sound beneath him. He could barely breathe.

The dull echo of.. _something_ moving through the vent, grew louder as it travelled beneath him, before dispersing towards the cafeteria.

Towards the cafeteria?

"Emmy-" he breathed quietly, before making a break for the cafeteria.

"Emmy!" He cried, his footsteps thundering against the metal floors.

There was no response.

Gasping for air, Luke ran as fast as he could to the cafeteria. No one was there.

"Emmy-!!" He shouted again, looking around wildly.

He heard a loud sound behind him. He turned around.

The sound, that sound came from the medical bay.

He ran into the room, panic making his heart and mind race.

He froze.

Emmy was crouched in the corner, holding her head in her hands. She seemed dazed, but uninjured.

Then he looked down.

He was standing in blood. Blood that was leaking from a familiar form in a brown space suit.

His heart dropped.

In a mangled mess on the floor, still twitching slightly, was Hershel Layton.

Luke wanted to vomit, but he couldn't look away.

The helmet of his suit was broken open, showing the shock and stress that he must have felt in his last moments. He almost looked as though he had been physically torn apart.

The body twitched again, and Luke gagged, tears filling his eyes.

"Prof- professor-" he choked out, stepping out of the growing pool of blood and stumbling back against the wall, barely standing.

He shakily took hold of his tablet, closed his eyes, and tried taking a deep breath.

He opened his eyes to see the professor again, and a scream tore out of his mouth.

He blamed him.  
_He blamed him for everything._

He hit the report button as an afterthought. Angela and Henry ran to him and gasped in horror.

Luke couldn't hear it. He couldn't tell if he was still screaming.

Angela was holding him. When had he started clinging to her like a lifeline?

What was happening?

This had to be a dream, right? Surely, this couldn't… this couldn't be...

Someone was yelling. It might have been Flora, he couldn't tell.

Was that Emmy? Emmy was yelling now.

Angela was holding him tightly. He was gasping for air.

"Professor-" he choked out. When had he started crying..?

The yelling filled his ears. He couldn't handle it. Everything was blurring together.

Everything was...  
Everything was.……

He heard the garbage chute.

Who had... What had...

Everything faded to nothing.

Maybe he would wake up from this nightmare.

* * *

**??????? was not the Imposter.  
1 Imposter Remains.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four remain.


End file.
